Friday, March 21, 2008

Seedlings

Those who are good with starting seeds, do these guys look ok? I think some of them have gotten too tall, too fast. I know they won't have strong stems if they grow too fast. I've got them under a light.

It is particularly the brocolli that has grown really tall. Should I replant them into taller containers up to the bottom of the leaves? I know that can make for a stronger stem. Or are they ok? I seem to be an over-anxious seedling mom.

10 comments:

I think they look okay! One thing you might want to do, though, to make sure they fill out before they get any taller, is to lower the light a bit. We keep ours about an inch above the tallest seedlings--I think the logic is that since artificial light is nowhere near as intense as the sun, plants will strain to reach a light that's even just a little bit above them.

I just ran and looked at our seedlings, and our broccoli and the Brussels sprouts are about twice as tall as the cabbage even though they were all started on the same day. I guess that makes sense, since they will both be a lot taller than the cabbage when the plants are all full grown.

My broccoli seedlings tend to get really leggy, too. I put them out in the high tunnel to get more light, but they got zapped, unfortunately. I'll be direct seeding some this afternoon instead. I really hate starting seeds inside. I should put together a cold frame, but have been resisting that because I have the high and low tunnels this year.

The nice thing about tomatoes is that you can pot them up like you suggest, and you can simply plant them sideways when you finally put them into the ground.

My experience with broccoli is that they tend to get leggy really quickly. Some of my seedlings came up, but I was still waiting for a few others. In about two days time, the first ones grew about 1 1/2" reaching for light. Then, I got them under the light (with it really close, like within an inch - the intensity of the light falls off exponentially the farther it is away) and they all basically stopped growing while their roots developed. After quite a while of just sitting there, and I shot of weak compost tea, they all started sending out leaves like crazy.

I don't think a few days of stretching will harm them very much.

Congrats on starting the seeds! It's tricky to figure out, but very satisfying when you have a few really good plants and can say "yeah, I grew them myself from tiny seeds." :)

It takes a while to realize what's normal and what's not too. Not many people post play-by-play pictures, it seems. Probably because they are all holding their breath - my included :) - that everything will turn out ok. :)

Danielle and Ron - Thanks for the input. I moved the light lower and hope that will help the broccoli calm down. My swiss chard is also fairly leggy. Worse case scenario, I start my seeds outside in about a month like I did last year.

Heck, I don't know. But you got Meg to weigh in and that's what counts. :-) (she gave very detailed directions on my blog the other day on how to build a chicken run!) I just wanted to say that they look really pretty. Good job! :-)

They're leggy but absolutely savable. When they get their first or second set of real leaves I would transplant them to peat pot and bury the stem up to right under the leaves. They'll be fine, and have nice, strong roots! :)

Another thing I do with my starts is to "tousle" them any time I walk by. Just gently rub your hand over them. It strengthens the stems. Or some people will put a fan on them, to simulate a breeze blowing on them. But getting my hands on them is so much more therapeutic :)

i have the same problem with my brussels. and i was dumb enough to put more than 1 seed per cell. now i have a big problem. most of them game up. i have the pic in my blog also. let us know what you did.

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Goals for 2010

Farm:• Figure out my overall focus for the farm • Expand goat herd • Plant more berry bushes• Plant more fruit trees• Improve garden soil• Research and decide if I want to do bees• Plant medicinal herbs • Learn to make more herbal remedies• Do something with Sweet Pea’s fleece• Have more success in the garden this year

Prep:• Expand food storage• Build and use more efficient solar oven• Become more confident with my rifle• Learn to shoot a pistol• Set up another water cistern• Explore alternative energy sources• Start canning again• Start sewing again • Learn to pressure can